1949 Ganton Golf Club, Scarborough, England

Captains: Ben Hogan (US), Charles Whitcombe (GB)USA 7 - GB 5

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Team USA aboard the SS Queen Elizabeth

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The U.S. Team was without three of America's top players. Non-playing Captain Ben Hogan was still crippled from his February 1949 automobile accident, while Byron Nelson had retired from serious competition and U.S. Open winner Cary Middlecoff was not a PGA member, and couldn't compete. But the Americans found enough reserve power when needed. On the eve of the Matches, Hogan raised a small controversy when he complained about the grooves on the clubs of some of the British players. This was Hogan's retaliation for an incident in 1947 when Britain's Henry Cotton asked for an inspection of Hogan's clubs. No "illegal" grooves were discovered at that time. Hogan's objections, however, were on target. The British team met with Royal and Ancient Rules of Golf Committee member Bernard Darwin that evening and Darwin said the clubs should be repaired to meet conforming standards. The clubs were brought back to Glanton Golf Club in Scarborough, where host professional Jock Ballantine spent the evening filing away the prohibited grooves. The following day, the British jumped off to a 3-1 lead in the foursomes before the Americans rallied and dominated the singles, 6-2. The keys to the U.S. recovery were in Clayton Heafner's 3-4-3-3 finish to defeat Richard Burton, 3 and 2; Jimmy Demaret's 7 and 6 rout of Arthur Lees and Lloyd Mangrum's 4 and 3 win over Fred Daly. Robert A. Hudson, whose generosity in funding the British team resulted in saving the Ryder Cup Matches in 1947, was appointed "Honorary Secretary" of the 1949 U.S. Ryder Cup Team.